Christmas Menu

[Dravin]

Beefche, sounds delicious! I guess cheesier the better! Now, when everything is mixed, should the mix be kind of thick right? Also, do you bake it afterwards to get a nice crust?

I've only seen it stove top. Also, while the tradition may be to open the slices individually, I'd suggest looking at getting some chubs (or even slices I suppose) at the deli counter at Walmart or something, that way you don't have to unwrap all those individual slices. Of course the stuff from the deli counter and the individually wrapped stuff isn't quite the same, so I suppose the taste wouldn't be traditional. That and you can't entice children into helping you cook via unwrapping everything. So I suppose it's a trade off.

[beefche]

We just make it stove top.

But, if you wanted a crusty top, I would suggest mixing some bread crumbs with a bit of melted butter, then putting that on top to bake.

[Dravin]

I also make my own cranberry sauce, just following the directions on a bag of fresh cranberries.

That's what I do, though with a couple slight alterations. I zest and juice one orange (per bag of cranberries) and replace the appropriate amount of water with the orange juice and put in the orange zest and a sprinkle of nutmeg. It kicks up the cranberry sauce without overpowering it. It's so Good I managed to get one of Beefche's clan's notoriously picky eaters to like it.

The wonderful thing is since cranberry sauce is so thick it is practically a jam without adding any pectin so even after the holidays I use it as jam. I made a bunch this year at Thanksgiving and froze the extra. Though I did add a little instant pectin, to what I intended to freeze, to thicken it up a touch for jam purposes. I even snagged some discount cranberries after Thanksgiving that are in the freezer in case I get low before next year. :)

Edited December 21, 2012 by Dravin

[Iggy]

I use the store brand equivulant of Cheese Whiz to make my Mac & Cheese. I don't like elbow macaroni, get real tired of chasing those babies all over the plate. I use the corkscrew pasta instead.

Two cups of uncooked pasta to 1/2 jar of cheese. Don't even have to add milk or butter. I love canned green beans and canned spinach (yes both) with Mac & Cheese, so I save the liquid from both & add more water to cook the pasta in.

Sometimes I have canned beets & spinach - then cook the pasta in those liquids. Oh, yeah, I get the multi colored cork screw pasta.

When I was challanged in RS to live for one day and two nights off of our food storage with only 3 gallons of water, I used the liquids from the canned veggies. The Mac & Cheese tasted pretty darn good with the pasta cooked in canned veggie liquids. With the beet juice, the water didn't look real good- but tasted good.

Also used green bean liquid added to the water for instant mashed potatoes. Liked that better than using chicken broth.

[beefche]

See, our macaroni and cheese is so cheesy that there is no chasing them needed. They all cling together and eagerly grip to your fork....

[Dravin]

See, our macaroni and cheese is so cheesy that there is no chasing them needed. They all cling together and eagerly grip to your fork....

And they leap into your mouth with glee. At least I think I hear squeals of glee while eating it... though that might be my love handles.

[Iggy]

When I need a dose of Mom's from scratch home cooking comfort food, I make her "In The Oven" macaroni & cheese. Made with chunks of medium cheddar cheese, chopped onion, celery, real butter/flour/whole milk. She didn't melt the cheese, but let it melt as it cooked. Oh and the macaroni was only cooked for 5 minutes before combining together with the rest of the ingredients and then popped into the oven.

Sometimes she would add chopped ham or spam or even left over chopped roast beef. I didn't care- as long as I didn't get served the crusty top. The crusty macaroni hurt the roof of my mouth, the same as corn flakes did.

Oh, and her version of creamed veggies was to cook the canned veggies in the liquid from the can, then serve in small bowls at the table, then pour a few teaspoons of evaporated milk on top. Dad is the one who seasoned with salt & pepper if we asked for it. We weren't allowed to handle the salt & pepper until we were 14. Over salted foods is never good for anyone to eat, and no way could we afford to toss food out. I still like my veggies creamed that way, only now I use frozen or fresh veggies, and just add half n half, heavy whipping cream or whole milk. I save the evaporated milk when I need to add milk to boxed cheesy foods aka Pasta Sides.

I had a school mate whose mother's claim to fame in her family was to make spaghetti sauce using cream of tomato soup - with no added water or milk or anything else. To me that was pretty much the same as canned spaghetti-O's. Ick!

[Backroads]

We're going to my parents... where it will be either a fairly traditional ham meal or sandwich fixings and chips and all that. It's been 50/50 growing up, and I love both.

[Wingnut]

Could you share the recipe, please? We LOOOOOVVVEEE enchiladas!

I have sooooo many enchilada recipes.

Cranberry- Turkey Enchiladas | Recipe Girl

Honey Lime Enchiladas

stacked roasted vegetable enchiladas (I substitute zucchini for the cauliflower)

JACK CHEESE CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN ENCHILADAS » Get Off Your Butt and BAKE!

A Year of Slow Cooking: Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchiladas CrockPot Recipe

Scribbit | A Blog About Motherhood in Alaska: Swiss Enchilaaaaaadas!

Beefche, sounds delicious! I guess cheesier the better! Now, when everything is mixed, should the mix be kind of thick right? Also, do you bake it afterwards to get a nice crust?

You guys are killing me with your Velveeta and American "cheese" mac & cheeses. Try these:

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

Food Blogga: Heaven-Sent Macaroni and Cheese (I used smoked Gruyere in this one.)

That's what I do, though with a couple slight alterations. I zest and juice one orange (per bag of cranberries) and replace the appropriate amount of water with the orange juice and put in the orange zest and a sprinkle of nutmeg. It kicks up the cranberry sauce without overpowering it. It's so Good I managed to get one of Beefche's clan's notoriously picky eaters to like it.

The wonderful thing is since cranberry sauce is so thick it is practically a jam without adding any pectin so even after the holidays I use it as jam. I made a bunch this year at Thanksgiving and froze the extra. Though I did add a little instant pectin, to what I intended to freeze, to thicken it up a touch for jam purposes. I even snagged some discount cranberries after Thanksgiving that are in the freezer in case I get low before next year. :)

My SIL canned cranberry sauce this year, without using pectin. She just followed the back-of-the-bag instructions and in less than 2 hours, had nine pints cooked and waterbathed.

[Dravin]

You guys are killing me with your Velveeta and American "cheese" mac & cheeses. Try these:

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

Food Blogga: Heaven-Sent Macaroni and Cheese (I used smoked Gruyere in this one.)

I'm noticing a difference in complexity. Sometimes you want a a simple side dish that doesn't poke it's head up and shout, "Look at me!" I like nice 'grown up' Mac and Cheese, prefer it even, but that doesn't mean the processed cheese style ones have no place, particularly if they have a nostalgia factor. Sometimes you want creme brulee, sometimes you want Nutella, graham crackers, and a glass of milk.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Dravin

[Bini]

I would love to read what do you guys plan to cook/eat for Christmas and yes, I am also looking for ideas. I plan to bake a ham, any easy and yummy side dishes?

I made Filipino pancit a few days ago and it was sooo good. I think I'll make it again for Christmas.

[pam]

I made Filipino pancit a few days ago and it was sooo good. I think I'll make it again for Christmas.

What??? And you didn't let me know?

[Suzie]

You all are killing me with these mac and cheese recipes! Oh my goodness, I'm feeling really hungryyy right now after seeing some of those pictures and reading things like:

See, our macaroni and cheese is so cheesy that there is no chasing them needed. They all cling together and eagerly grip to your fork....

[pam]

Could you share the recipe, please? We LOOOOOVVVEEE enchiladas!

This is the recipe I use that my kids love:

4 chicken breasts (boiled and then cut into very small pieces)

1/2 c Colby Jack cheese

1/2 small can chilies (save the other half for sauce)

1/4 c onion, chopped

12 flour tortillas

Sauce:

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Remainder of can of chilies

1 c. grated Colby Jack cheese

Mix the cut up cooked chicken with chilies, onions and cheese. Put 1 or 2 spoonfuls of chicken filling on each tortilla and put a tablespoon full of sauce.

Roll up tortilla shell and place seam side down in a baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake at at 350 degrees covered for 45 minutes. Bake 5-10 minutes uncovered to slightly brown.

[Smudge]

We will be having Turkey, roast tatties, peas, carrots, sprouts, brocolli, red cabbage, homemade cranberry sauce, home made cornbread and homemade sage and onion stuffing. Followed by (probably) homemade chocolate baked cheese cake with strawberries and hopefully homemade ice-cream - if I can fit the bowl in the freezer on saturday when I take the turkey out to defrost.

When we have ham we tend to have it with new tatties, peas and carrots and apple sauce - or with baked potatoes

[pam]

I take it tatties are potatoes?

[Smudge]

Yes they are.